The Daily Collegian

That is, until the subject of religion comes up. Lately, the hot topic is the rash of pedophilia cases within the Catholic Church. Starting with the Geoghan case, hundreds have come forward claiming priests had molested them.

The media, in particular, has exaggerated the link between pedophilia, claiming rigid Catholic Church doctrine regarding sexuality creates sexual frustration and thus, pedophilia. Not true.

Now, it is the rare occasion that I defend religion, particularly Catholicism. Indeed, there are few things I dislike more. Rivaled only by the Yankees and Fred Durst, religion tops my most hated list.

But to blame the Catholic Church for pedophilia is ridiculous. Some argue pedophilia stems from years of sexual repression due to a priest's inability to masturbate, marry and have sex.

Now I think one should be able to do all of those things without having to feel guilty, but pedophilia isn't a symptom of sexual frustration. Pedophilia is a disease. It must be treated accordingly.

Pedophiles find jobs allowing them to be near children. Some work at children's theme parks or various other jobs where children are around. These jobs didn't create the disease any more than the Catholic Church did.

The Church did not create the disease, but it did cover up the symptoms. When approached with evidence of pedophile priests, the Church hierarchy (particularly Cardinal Law), refused to deal with the problem.

Instead, they shuffled these priests around, allowing them to continue molesting children. Geoghan molested 137 children, a number too sickening to comprehend.

Law let this happen, and that's what we should be mad about. The Catholic Church's decision to turn the other cheek time and time again is the true crime. Instead of nipping this in the bud, the Church refused to risk losing face and let the problem grow until it could be a secret no longer.

The handling of this crisis is a serious crime indeed. The Catholic Church is as guilty, perhaps even more so, as those priests that molested children. When the chance arose to stop the bleeding, the Church hierarchy allowed the problem to fester and worsen in order to avoid embarrassment.

While there is plenty of guilt to go around, the Church and pedophile priests are guilty of entirely different things. Those guilty priests, of course, molested children.

One thing to note here is pedophilia is a disease deserving treatment. Dismissal from the priesthood or even prison time won't reform a pedophile. I'm not trying to alleviate the responsibility here, but the fact remains: pedophilia is a disease that needs to be treated accordingly.

With that said, the Church is guilty of suppressing these cases, intimidating those who came forward and refusing to fix the problem. Not only that, by failing to repair the crisis, the Church perpetuated the problem by allowing these priests to continue working.

The Catholic Church, however, is not guilty of creating pedophilia. While the Church indirectly encouraged these priests to molest children, the Church didn't make the disease.

Again, a fan of religion I am not, but there is no cause-and-effect link between Catholicism and pedophilia, as the media would have you believe. Catholic doctrine may contribute to sexual frustration, but that sexual frustration doesn't lead to pedophilia. Those who want to see the Church modernize its views on certain issues point to the pedophilia issue as a side effect of repressed sexuality. This is a misdiagnosis of the problem.

While I agree that the Church desperately needs to alter its archaic views on sexuality, pedophilia is an independent occurrence. The media's attempt to link the two focuses on the wrong issue. There is no need to search for blame. The Church's handling of the pedophilia issue provides more than enough abuse about which to be angry. The media sensation attempts to fabricate a cause-and-effect relationship between the Church and pedophilia and blows it way out of proportion.

Catholics are right to be upset at the media coverage indicating Catholic doctrine is responsible for pedophilia. The media has ignored the real story in order to find a more sensational, scandalous story.

Why the media must pursue this angle is beyond me. An outrageous, socially pertinent scandal lies before them, and they choose to go after a false lead. Uncovering the truth is fine and indeed is the job of the media, but to create an exaggerated story to manufacture outrage, sell papers and attract viewers detracts from the credibility of a supposedly noble pursuit. You already have your story. You have plenty about which to be legitimately angry. Don't start making stuff up.

Sean Jacquet is a Collegian Columnist.

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